Close to 700 delegates from over 95 countries are attending a three-day Learning Cities conference in Cork organised by UNESCO and previously held in Beijing and Mexico city.

Politics at the start of 1916 in Cork City and county was overshadowed by events in Europe and the Middle East.

Pilots at Alitalia agreed tonight to nearly double their annual flying hours and accept lower pay – the first breakthrough in talks aimed at keeping the near-bankrupt Italian carrier in business.